Ways to Say the Age-Old Phrase
by Xnasha Minstrel
Summary: Thirty-five ways to say "I love you". A collection of short drabbles, detailing the many ways it could have happened.
**I. As a hello**

"I love you."

"Who are you and what have you done with Kujo Jotaro?" Noriaki teased as he wrapped his arms around him, just happy to see him again. "It's not like you to be so straightforward with your _feel~lings,"_ he said the last word with a lilting tone, and Jotaro only closed his eyes and nosed at red hair.

"Shut up. It's just…been a while, that's all."

"Well, I love you too. It's so good to see you," Noriaki laughed and tilted his head up to kiss the taller man.

 **II. With a hoarse voice, under the blankets**

"Oh, god, please for the love of _—_ _move!_ " He gasped, tightening his grip on Jotaro's shoulders. The other man changed the angle of his hips and the friction made Noriaki arch his back, vision threatening to white out. He felt like he was drowning.

The blanket Jotaro had draped over themselves had slid off, pooled around their feet. Noriaki had nothing else on his lips except, "I love you, I love you I love you I—" growing hoarser by the second.

He kissed him hard, and the words were crushed between their mouths.

 **III. A scream**

"WHAT?" Noriaki shouted over the crashing waves. "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

"I LOVE YOU AS MUCH AS I LOVE DOLPHINS!"

"IT'S TOO LOUD!"

"I LOVE—you know what, screw it."

Noriaki was definitely surprised when Jotaro ran, swept him off his feet like some Disney prince, and made off with him into the sunset.

 **IV. Over a cup of tea**

"Here." Jotaro handed him the steaming mug of herbal tea, and Noriaki inhaled the fragrant steam appreciatively.

"I love you so much right now, you have no idea. How did you know I needed jasmine tea?"

"I know you too well." Jotaro smiled, and got his own mug of coffee, and at this point in their relationship Noriaki knew that the liquid comprised about 80% of his boyfriend's bloodstream.

His mouth still tasted like coffee when Jotaro kissed him good morning.

 **V. Over a beer bottle**

It was a Friday night, and Jotaro was hopelessly drunk.

(To be perfectly honest, that was probably the only way he can muster enough courage for what he was about to do.)

"You're so fucking pretty and I love you." He said to Kakyoin, who was sitting across from him and nursing his own bottle of beer.

"Really? You're telling me this now? You couldn't have told me this sober?" Kakyoin slurred as he waved his bottle at him in an frustrated motion. "Fuck you and _your_ pretty face, cuz I love you too you dolphin-loving ass."

That morning was decidedly awkward.

 **VI. On a sunny Tuesday afternoon, the late sunlight glowing in your hair**

"Home so early?" Noriaki said, rubbing sleep from his eyes as he pushed himself up from the sofa where he was taking a nap.

"I wanted to go a bit early today, and my advisor said it was okay with her." Jotaro took off his hat and settled himself onto the couch, relaxing into the cushions.

Noriaki looked at Jotaro's face, at the sunlight yellow glow making halos in his dark hair, and itched for a sketchbook. He instead curled his feet around his ankles, leaning in and cuddling with him.

"I love you a lot, you know that?"

Jotaro hummed back, content.

 **VII. As a thank you**

"I love you. Oh my god, how did you even get tickets to this, they've been sold out of the tickets for _days,_ " Jotaro's eyes lit up as he looked at the two slips of paper.

Noriaki didn't mention the fact that he had booked those tickets months ago. He only laughed.

Trust Jotaro to get excited over aquarium tickets.

 **VIII. As an apology**

"Okay, listen to me—I love you. And I really didn't mean to eat all of the pizza from Tonio's, it was just so good and I know you were looking forward to it but I was just so hungry!" Kakyoin said, rushing through the words.

"You better run right now, Kakyoin. I'll give you a five second head start."

"That's practically nothing, with your stupidly long legs!"

 **IX. When baking chocolate chip cookies**

"Don't eat the dough —god damn it, Jotaro! There's raw eggs in there, you can get salmonella!"

"It's fine. I love you and your cookies."

"You're going to eat it all before we can actually get this in the oven, and even though I love you too I do _not_ want to spend my Saturday evening in the emergency room— come back with the mixing bowl! You are not kissing me with that egg breath of yours, do you hear me?!"

Jotaro, just to be contrary, kissed him on the cheek and then used his superior height to hold the mixing bowl above his head.

 **X. Not said to me**

Noriaki shot Jotaro an exasperated look and crossed his arms, a smile briefly flickering across his face. Eventually, Jotaro sighed and wrapped his arms around his mother. His face softened in that rare, precious way of his, lightening up his eyes.

"Happy Mother's Day, Ma. I love you."

Holly only hugged her son tighter before letting go, holding him by his shoulders. "My, now you've made me cry. Whatever shall I do? You're always such a nice boy." She reached up to wipe away her tears. Jotaro's mom then turned to him, beaming widely. "Why, Noriaki-kun, you've gotten thinner! Do you eat enough? I, for one, know Jotaro is absolutely horrible at cooking; once he burned water. That's literally, by the way — he left the pot on for hours and completely forgot about it. The stories I could tell you…"

Noriaki laughed harder at Jotaro's disgruntled face and let himself be led to the kitchen.

 **XI. With a shuddering gasp**

"Noriaki," Jotaro woke him up as he jerked awake beside the redhead.

"Jojo? What's wrong?"

"N-nothing. It—it was just a nightmare." His voice hitched, and Noriaki quietly hugged him in the dark. "I love you, more than anything."

"I know."

 **XII. When we lay together on the fresh spring grass**

"When are you heading out to Florida?" He asked, turning a page in his sketchbook. Looking at Jotaro lying in the grass beside him, he started yet another sketch.

Jotaro yawned. "Late August. I need to get settled in at the dorms, and classes start early September."

"Well, we might as well make the most of this spring then." Noriaki looked up. "You know that I love you, right?"

"Idiot. You know I know, and I love you too."

 **XIII. In a letter**

"Ads, ads, ads…" He muttered to himself. "A letter?"

The address was written in a familiar, elegant hand. Noriaki felt a sense of eagerness as he carefully extracted the letter from the envelope.

Jotaro wished him well, and described all sorts of things, from his biology classes (he snorted in amusement at the amount of interesting dolphin facts) to the weather in Florida. He smiled at the simple "I love you" and the little doodle of a goddamn dolphin before putting the letter away with the others, taking out some paper to start on his own reply back.

 **XIV. A whisper in the ear**

"Guess who?" Noriaki said behind him, and Jotaro smirked.

"Let me guess. Someone who's going to pull me away from this stack of mandatory essays?"

"You got that goddamn right. If that's not true love I don't know what is," he tutted in false sternness.

 **XV. Loud, so everyone can hear**

"I love Kakyoin Noriaki, and am currently dating him. So all of you annoying girls can piss off!"

"Oh my _god,_ Jojo, why didn't you ever tell us?"

"Yeah! Give us the dirt! Did you guys make it to… _third base?_ "

"It's my OTP, it's always been my OTP…"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE."

 **XVI. Over and over again, till it** **'** **s nothing but a senseless babble**

"I love you I love you I love you I love you —"

"Careful," Jotaro smirked. "You're beginning to sound like Ms. Higashikata when she thought I was Grandpa."

"I hate you. But I also love you. You are an ass."

"Well, I love you too."

 **XVII. When the broken grass litters the floor**

"I can't do this, Jotaro. I'm so goddamn tired, of physical therapy, of just being so goddamn _slow_ at even making my way across this stupid room!" He felt the frustrated tears burn at his eyes, but Noriaki refused to let them fall.

Jotaro moved closer, careful not to step on any of the glass shards. "It's okay, Noriaki. I know this is hard. Shit, it ain't a walk in the park for me either." He hugged the shorter man, and Noriaki leaned into him. "But I'm here for you. And trust me, I won't go anywhere. You've been making me say this a lot, but believe me when I say this— I love you."

 **XVIII. From very far away**

For once, he cursed his small stature. The airport was beyond crowded, and he was already late.

However, one good thing about having a giant of a boyfriend is that you can easily see him in a crowd.

Noriaki just couldn't wait that much longer.

"I love you!" He shouted across the rush of people. That caught Jotaro's attention, and he came striding over, the crowd parting like the Red Sea for him.

It is, after all, hard to shove around 195 centimetres of pure muscle.

 **XIX. With no space left between us**

"I-I'm okay. Just—just go slowly." He gasped as Jotaro slid in, pausing to let him adjust.

Once he was completely inside, he grabbed at Noriaki's hands, gripping him tight. "I love you."

He returned the squeeze. "I love you too."

 **XX. As we huddle together, the storm raging outside**

The lightning cracked overhead, and Noriaki huddled closer to Jotaro.

"I love you and your stupidly big coat." He said.

They were in the Shinjuku Gyoen, hiding under the awning as the rain poured outside. Jotaro merely shrugged and put an arm pulled him closer. They watched the rain land in puddles, safe with each other in a little piece of the world.

 **XXI. Over your shoulder**

"If you think I'm going to let you cook anything, you are sorely mistaken. You have zero aptitude for cooking, and baking is not something you can oraoraora into working," Noriaki said behind him, and Jotaro guiltily nudged the bag of flour back into the cupboard.

"I just wanted cookies…" he muttered, and his boyfriend laughed. "C'mon, let me at it."

"Have I ever told you that I love you?" He said against Noriaki's shoulder.

"Yes, but tell me again."

 **XXII. Muffled, from the other side of the door**

Noriaki sat down carefully, back sliding against the wood. "You won't hurt me. I know it. I trust you. I know you have a lot of power, power that you use to protect. It was just a bad dream."

There was the sound of muffled shuffling behind the door. "How do you know? How do you trust me that much?"

"I trust you because I love you. Nothing less."

 **XXIII. Through a song**

"Okay, if you're going to confess to Kakyoin, you need to do it with _style,_ " Polnareff leaned in conspiratorially.

"I'm not sure I should be taking advice from _you_ of all people about my love life," Jotaro grumbled, but was listening carefully anyway. Polnareff gave him a knowing look.

"Now, _mon frère,_ the best way to do the deed is, of course, through _song._ The universal language of love, non?" The Frenchman wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Okay…that sounds fake, but okay…"

"Now, here is what you're going to do…"

He was regretting this already.

 _Later:_

Jotaro cleared his throat, feeling his face flush tomato red. _"Let me be your freedom, let daylight dry your tears,_ _I_ _'m here, with you, beside you, to guard you and to guide you…_ "

Kakyoin laughed, laughed until there were tears in his eyes, and picked up on the next line. " _Say you'll love me every waking moment, turn my head with talk of summer time— say you need me with you, now and always…_ "

 **XXIV. Without really meaning it**

"Really? I'm evil?" Kakyoin smirked. "Then it can then be said that I love you, for villainy is a type of love — it is, after all, another side of hate."

"Don't twist the meaning like that. That's what evil does, after all. Well, for this crime, and for others — I shall judge you!"

 **XXV. In a blissful sigh as you fall asleep**

"Go back to sleep, Jotaro. It's two-thirty at night on February the thirteenth, and you're here with me in our apartment. It was just a bad dream." Noriaki

"Noriaki—I dreamed…I dreamed that you died."

"Shhh. It's alright. I'm here,

 **XXVI. Broken, as you clutch the sleeve of my jacket and beg me not to leave**

"Don't go." He clutched at the bloody fabric. "Stay with me. Don't you fucking dare close your eyes, you son of a bitch, you don't get to die on me! I love you, you fucker, I love you! So you're going to live, and take me on a proper date without a stand user possessing the manta rays!"

"Nor…Nori…aki…"

"Yes, it's me, now keep your—keep your eyes on me…"

 **XXVII. A taunt, with one eyebrow raised and a grin bubbling at your lips**

Jotaro raised an eyebrow and on his face appeared the most shit-eating grin Noriaki had ever seen on his face.

"Yeah, I love you. What are you gonna do about it?"

He felt his own jaw dropping at the utter audacity of this move, just as Jotaro made a run for it.

" _Hierophant Green!"_

"You can try and catch me, Kakyoin!"

"Come back here and let me throttle you!"

 **XXVIII. When I am dead**

In another world, one in an infinite number of them, things happened differently.

He took a seat, and couldn't bear to look at the body covered by the white sheet, the red staining through.

It was cold in the morgue — after all, what use did the dead have for warmth?

Noriaki felt numb, like someone had dug a hole through his chest and left him empty.

"I did say I love you. I do. So why couldn't you…? I refuse to believe you just gave up." He gritted his teeth, and felt his fingernails biting into his own palms.

"It's over, and I still love you. How did it all turn out like this…?"

No answer.

 **XXIX. Slowly, the words dripping from your tongue like honey**

"Mmm, g-go slowly," Noriaki moaned. Jotaro changed his grip on his hips, kissing down the soft skin of Noriaki's chest.

"I love you," he mumbled into the sensitive skin and slowly thrusted forward. Noriaki groaned, scrabbling at Jotaro's hair.

"Ah, I—I love you—"

 **XXX. Too quick, mumbled into your scarf**

Jotaro could barely hear what Kakyoin said. For one, since the trip to Egypt he was always bundled up in the winter, the cold weather sometimes making his scars ache, so today he had wrapped a great big fluffy monstrosity of a scarf around his neck. For another, Kakyoin had muttered it so quick it was like he almost didn't want Jotaro to hear it.

But he was sure, under the layers of wool, Kakyoin had said "I love you."

He went the rest of the day in a great mood, scaring the shit out of his teachers.

 **XXXI. In awe, the first time you realized it**

"Holy shit." He whispered. " _Holy shit,_ I love you."

"You're just figuring this out? Then what the hell were we doing last night?!"

"Wait, that came out wrong!— "

"You're sleeping on the couch, mister, and I hope your oversized body aches for the next week."

 **XXXII. In a way I can** **'** **t return**

Miss Holly was inconsolable at the funeral. Understandable, Kakyoin thought, feeling as numb as he did the night it all happened.

Later, after the cremation was over, Kakyoin sat in his bed, unable to sleep, unable to cry. Hoping to get some fresh air, he opened the window in his room and closed his eyes.

For a moment, he thought he could hear something, carried on the breeze. Kakyoin did not, could not answer.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself crying.

 **XXXIII.** **On a post-it note**

Noriaki woke up that night suddenly, noticing the absence of a person beside him. Groggily, he made his way downstairs, noticing that the lights were still on despite the late hour.

Apparently, Jotaro was making a midnight run to the convenience store, and was nice enough to leave a post-it before he left.

 _Noriaki,_ it read, _Gone to store for milk and cigarettes. Love you._

With a small smile on his face, he went back to bed.

 **XXXIV. Before we jump**

"I died, didn't I?" Kakyoin asked. He stood in the waves, Jotaro standing in front of him. The other man was still taller than him, damn his giant genes, and didn't look like he had aged at all.

"Yup. Sure took your time." Jotaro reached out and took his hand, his fingers calloused and rough and _real_ against his own.

"I don't know if you heard me the first time, I don't know if you were listening to me all the times afterward, but I'll say it again: I love you. I really do." Kakyoin smiled through his tears.

Their lips met, softly, conveying things that they did not have the time to say.

Together, they sank into the ocean, into a new world.

 **XXXV. As a goodbye**

" _Come home safe. I love you." It was a slow song, and he leaned in, revelling in the other's warmth._

" _Stay safe. I love you too." He intertwined their fingers together, and it's a love, a simple three word phrase for the ages._


End file.
